Like many, there have been times where my prayer life became stale and rote, or worse more like gimme gimme gimme. I’ve gone to the Lord with please help me lose weight before XYZ or please help my boss be less psycho. Lately, there’s been a lot of please help me fall in love. Sometimes there was a thanks and a please forgive me, but I had definitely hit a wall for a while and was stuck in selfishness.
If you’re the praying type, I’m sure you can relate. We get busy and distracted and sadly, neglect the one who loves us most.
Lately, my prayer journey has turned around again to something really fruitful and fulfilling.
At the end of June, I committed to praying for a couple every day for the month of July. They’re hurting and while my natural instinct might have been to tell them what they’re doing wrong and try to “fix” them, I know that it’s not my job. So I decided to commit them to the Lord every day. In the beginning, I’d start with a quick “oh yeah, I almost forgot” type prayer, then I got to a prayer of pleading, but then after a few days, it was a conversation with God. And suddenly, it became bigger than praying for others, but talking to God about what was going on in my own life.
It turns out that taking myself out of my prayers and becoming less selfish in my requests to God, I felt more refreshed and closer to him. Pretty cool, actually.
Have you ever experienced anything like this in your prayer journey?
Prayer is definitely not my spiritual gift. I do find it’s easier to pray when I’m praying for others. When I bring the same requests before God, I just feel like the nagging widow Jesus mentioned- while I know it paid off for her, I sense sometimes God wants me to just trust in His timing and move on to something else. I just ordered a copy of Shane Claiborne’s Common Prayer, which I’ve been wanting for months now. When I remember I go to the Common Prayer website and it’s a nice way to start or end the day. Having the book will be a nice complement to my day and the ritual a good contrast to my normal nondenom practices.
Best advice I’ve heard in a long time. I shall insert this into my own lifestyle and see if I start feeling better and being more open to God’s gifts. Not that I didn’t appreciate them before, but maybe I’ll have a different perspective.
Thanks for this!
yes! beautiful, thanks for sharing.
i am so thankful that prayer works that way…drawing myself to HIM and others needs.
Yes, I have been praying for you to find love ever since I read your blog about it. It really will happen when you least expect it!!! Love your blog, God Bless!!!
I’m reading through One Thousand Gifts right now and I love the idea that it centers around that gratitude for God’s creation is the most important thing we can offer back to God. So that’s what I’ve been doing in my prayers and I find that they’re coming much more easily and unselfishly.
I know I’m a week late to your post, but it definitely struck a nerve. I am so fortunate to have several close friends/family in my life that pray SO diligently for me. They email me encouraging words. They ask God for Bible verses for me. They listen on my behalf. And I don’t do them justice in reciprocation.
In other words, I am a selfish pray-er. And I’ve been feeling rather convicted on that point lately. So your testimony about putting others into your prayer life–and the fruit it’s had–is exactly what I need to hear.
Thanks for sharing!
Warmly,
Stephanie from Make Home Make Sense
What a great reminder! I pray through St. Patrick’s prayer when I need a prayer refresher.
(sacredsignposts.com)